Dead Man's Gaze
by Treewater
Summary: Kakashi contemplates Sakura's mannerisms throughout a series of present-tense drabbles. Kakasaku.
1. Running

A/N: A series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Running**

He watches her run. Her sweat makes her red shirt cling and it sets her skin alight in the sun like liquid diamond. He thinks it is odd that he sees it that way. He knows that she will run herself down soon as he continues to watch her run laps around the training field, and then she will come to him to ask him for a report on how he thought she did. For three straight hours of running at a constant speed, he will say, "You did wonderfully."


	2. Crying

A/N: The second of a series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Crying**

He watches her cry. She thinks she is alone, but she is not, and he knows that she cries for the ones that she loves but has lost. He knows that her constant running and her constant sweat are gateways to the solace she cannot receive from the Hokage, from him, from anyone, and he knows that she never believed in a god. Her world is shattering. He frowns.


	3. Speaking

A/N: The third of a series of finished **drabbles**, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.  
(Drabble: a short fanfiction generally around 100 words in length.) -- For those of you who don't know what a drabble is. x-x

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Speaking**

When she speaks to him, she never looks him in the face, and sometimes it irks him. He questions her about it. He says, "You never look at me when I'm talking to you." And she says, "I could say the same thing about you." It makes him wonder if he has done something wrong, if he has injured her in some way or if this is just the behavioral knowledge she has garnered from him. He feels slightly ashamed.


	4. Shadowing

A/N: The fourth in a series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku. (Forgot to mention this series is inspired by the lyrics of "Stand in the Rain" by Superchic(k). Each drabble was inspired by a line in the song, excluding the chorus.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Shadowing**

Sunset is coming on. The shadows are creeping along the grass, long and fuzzy, and he stands with her beside the memorial, looking down at the names carved there. "You'll never stop missing them, will you?" he asks. "No," she says, "but neither will you." He looks at her, and he knows they are not talking about the same people. He wonders how she knows where his demons are from. He sees her shaking, and he extends a hand, but she shakes her head in a signal that she is still strong. He knows it, but it does not stop him from wanting to help her.


	5. Healing

A/N: The fifth in a series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Healing**

She has been wounded in a way that would cause anyone intense pain, and she is out of chakra. She cannot heal the wound on her hip that is causing her to limp beside him with his hand out to steady her, and because he does not know how, he cannot heal it for her. "I'll take you to the hospital," he says, because he can see her pain, but her eyes are tired and dead and hollow, and he knows she will not speak to him now. He knows she is thinking of blonde hair and curse marks and is intertwining them with demon eyes the color of blood.


	6. Obsessing

A/N: The sixth in a series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Obsessing**

He watches her doing her crunches. She is on her seventieth repetition. Sweat is rolling down her back and she continuously blinks her eyes to keep the saltiness from hurting them at all, and he knows that she won't stop this one exercise until she passes out or the moon rises. She is obsessive, and it worries him.


	7. Smiling

A/N: The seventh in a series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Smiling**

He answers the knock on his door to find her hiding underneath an umbrella, sniffling slightly with the cold. He opens the door wide and offers her the sofa and a cup of hot chocolate. She smiles grimly, and he frowns beneath his mask. It is the only smile she ever shows him, and he feels that he taught it to her because it is the only smile that he has ever been able to procure for himself.


	8. Giving

A/N: The last in a series of finished drabbles, all linked around a central theme. Kakasaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Dead Man's Gaze  
****Giving**

She passes out on his couch, and as he pulls a blanket over her with all the loving care he can muster, he notices a necklace shining dimly over her collarbone. It is a circular locket, and he opens it without waking her. Naruto and Sasuke stare back at him, and he can only describe their faces as ones filled to the brim with loathing. He wonders why this is all he sees. He finds that he wants to give up too, and lies down with her.


End file.
